1000 Days of Harry Potter

Day 681

Draco ignores the sound of the bell on the door ringing, continuing his work. Marie can deal with a few customers, and if she can't she'll let him know.

He startles when Ron Weasley stumbles into the back room, Marie on his heels.

"Sir, sir, you can't be back here—"

"Draco! It's Harry. He's hurt, you need to come."

"Close up the shop and go home early," Draco barks at Marie, who is watching them, wide-eyed. "Please."

She barely has time to nod before Ron grabs Draco's arm and Apparates them directly to the hospital Waiting Room.

An hour later, Draco is staring down at a sleeping Harry Potter, but he's so pale he barely looks like himself.

"He's going to be alright," the Healer tells Draco and Ron kindly. "It was touch and go there for a minute, but thanks to your wonderful potion, Mr. Malfoy, we were able to slow down the curse damage long enough to find a cure and start the healing process. He'll be here for a few weeks and he'll have a nasty scar, but he'll be just fine in the end."

"Oh, thank Merlin," Ron breathes, raking a hand through his bright red hair. "I saw him take that Curse, and I thought—"

"What happened?" Draco asks, dropping into the chair nearest Harry's bed.

It says something about the way the relationship dynamics have changed that Weasley doesn't question this, just sits down beside Draco with a sigh of relief. He also doesn't question the way Draco has to reach out and touch Harry while he talks, running his fingers through Harry's hair and over his face, down the side of his arm, finally clutching at the fingers of his hand.

Ron tells Draco about the raid of an underground goblin fighting ring. Wizards, forcing the goblins to fight for their entertainment. The duel was one of the worst he had ever seen, with some of the darkest magic. One of the younger Aurors miscast his Shield Charm and Harry, bloody hero that he is (Ron's words, although Draco wholeheartedly agrees with the sentiment), instinctively jumped in front of the idiot and took the Curse himself. It sliced him open, right through his side. At this point, Draco notices the amount of blood on Ron's crimson robes and visibly cringes.

"There was so much blood," Ron finishes his story. "I got him here as fast as I could, and then they gave him that potion and took him back, and then I came to get you, and...bloody hell, I forgot to tell Hermione! And Teddy, doesn't he get out of school soon?"

Oh, fuck.

Draco looks over at Harry, hesitant to leave, but knowing that someone definitely needs to pick up Teddy. Draco stands up to go, but Ron holds up a hand.

"No, you stay with Harry. He'll want to see you when he wakes up. I'll go tell Hermione, and we'll get Teddy and take him to the Burrow with our kids, and then we'll come back."

Why had he ever hated this ridiculous, freckled, fantastic ginger-haired man? Draco wonders. He's absolutely wonderful.

"Thank you."

* * *

By the time Harry wakes, the Blood-Replenishment potions have done their work, and most of the color has returned to his face.

He lightly squeezes the hand Draco is clutching tightly. "Draco?"

"You're awake!"

"You're here?"

"I'm here. Weasley and Granger will be here soon, too. They're picking up Teddy from school and taking him to the Burrow with Rose and Hugo."

Harry sighs and closes his eyes again. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"According to Ron, you jumped in front of a Dark Curse that sliced right through you."

"Ah, well that explains the bandage," Harry jokes. "And the pain."

"This isn't funny, Harry," Draco's voice comes out slightly hysterical, "you nearly died!"

Harry opens his eyes and peers at him for a second. "I'm sorry," he says softly. "I wasn't thinking, I just acted without thinking."

"You can't do reckless shit like that anymore," Draco glares at him. "You can't leave us."

Harry shakes his head, squeezing Draco's hand again. "I won't."